Global Environment 30 questions FINAL QUESTIONS Pollution o Why does it matter that air and water are commons commons the use of those resources are open to the public Agricultural pollution main sources of common Non point sources of pollution they are car exhaust not one point that the pollution comes from lots of different points Agricultural runoffs Types sources inorganic nutrients o Nitrogen and phosphorous Waterborne diseases o Cholera dysentery typhoid polio o They are associated with poor sewage treatment usually in developing world Heavy metal contamination usually comes from tail mining o Processing different types of metal mercury chromium lead Radioactivity Particles can have toxic carcinogenic materials o Small particles can cause lung disease Acid rain o Destroys property environment o Acidify waterways o Effects on wildlife esp birds b c weakens shells o Forest decline Smog causes respiratory illness Lots of runoff from city Oil from cars particulates in the ground Water flows really fast speed of the water picks them all up and puts it in the water o What are the most common forms of air and water pollution and what are their effects on ecosystems and human health Human health air pollution causes respiratory problems Water pollution causes different kinds of diseases Cancer from volatile inorganic compounds Ozone depletion Increase the risk of skin cancer Cataracts Decreased immunity Ecosystem disruption Crop damage Sea level rise Unpredictable weather patterns Disruption of agriculture Climate change o What activities pollute air and water Agricultural run off Excessive nutrients esp from fertilizer Pathogens Antibiotic Chemicals from pesticides Sediment Industrial pollutants pollute air greenhouse gases smog particulates pollute water heavy metals radioactivity from coal mine tailings heavy metals radioactivity poisonous chemicals cyanide etc URBAN SPRAWL IS A CAUSE OF POLLUTION Not exactly a cause of pollution but it is directly related to increasing levels of pollution Air pollution is worsened b c people spend more time driving in cars that pollute Cars and other urban sources lead to water pollution as oil and other contaminants wash into waterways Transportation Municipal run off Pollutes air greenhouse gases smog particulates Pollutes water oil and petroleum products Pathogens nutrients petroleum products sediment o What solutions have humans come up with to fix the problem Scrubbers different kind of energy plants Devices that take out the crap from the exhaust Take pollutants out of the exhaust of industrial processes power generation and pharmaceutical production Catalytic converters catalytic the things Convert toxic compounds into less toxic ones through oxidation Water purification Primary treatment removing suspended and Secondary treatment biological decomposition of floating particles organic material Tertiary treatment additional biological chemical physical treatment to remove nitrogen phosphorous viruses etc Carbon credits giving factories a certificate to give them a set amount of toxic chemicals that they are allowed to dump into the water Helps make the water and air and ozone better Can sell the certificates to other factories if they do not end up using it all Something we don t want and can t use The status of something as waste isn t unchanging since waste can become a resource if we think about it differently Lots of kinds of waste that we reuse gleaners I ship to landfill materials that are the outcomes of making a new resource raw material has different waste levels all over the world the wealthier a country is the more waste they make o Where is waste produced Different sources of waste solid waste Municipal solid waste coming from cities only a small percentage of the whole fraction of the amount of waste Waste o What is waste Agricultural waste crop residue and manure some is recycled into soil but makes air and water pollution Mine tailing slag etc Industrial waste mostly recycled converted destroyed or landfilled A lot of hazardous toxic material Municipal waste household and commercial Road building and construction debree Twice as much solid waste from industrial factories o How do we deal with waste Try to recycle we put it in dumps export it to different countries donation Divert the water stream Open dumping Usually in developing countries Don t effectively contain garbage seeps out into water ways Pollute water and air spread disease by rats insects cultures dogs etc can be resourceful and dangerous for people who live in dumps pepenadores waste pickers garbage patch on oceans inadvertent ocean dumping and plastics problem of plastic o all the plastic that has ever been made still exists o recycling plastic can only make a lower grade plastic eventually its useless o biodegradable plastic can only break down under specific conditions o many products are designed so that plastic in waste water is inevitable landfills incineration some are waste to energy facilities SimCity can generate electricity from heat reduces stress on landfills still has toxic solid waste as ash high startup cost only profitable if landfill prices are high profitable in cities very hazardous air pollution create an artificial reef reef building or dumping Shrinking the waste stream Recycling Reprocessing of old materials to make new materials Removes material from garbage stream Can save money energy landfill space Reduces demand for raw materials Wood rubber and plastic becomes new products Commercial scale recycling and composting yard waste tree trimmings Reusing Remanufactured goods auto parts used products markets check Many services exist to aid reusing craigslist curb Dumpster diving Used where imported products are expensive and labor is cheap Life cycle assessment consider the total costs of production from intital production to disposal Cradle to cradle tries to consider and plan for the life of a product when its no longer useful o What effects does waste have on the environment Production how we use materials results in outcomes Production produced byproducts How we look at the outcomes byproducts as waste new resource etc effects what happens to it with the environment suffering consequences both at the start and the end of the production cycle Garbage patch extreame example All the plastic end up in the ocean Patches of big plastic impacts on wild life Open dumping digging a hole and putting the trash into it the trash can be spread